Rig Veda 9.61.17: Mandala 9, Sukta 61, Mantra 17
Sukta 9.61
- Rishi
- Traditionally attributed within the Pavamāna Soma corpus to Soma-pavamāna seers
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Chandas
- Jagatī
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Shanta (peace)
पवमानस्य ते रसो मदो राजन्नदुच्छुनः । वि वारमव्यमर्षति ॥
pavamā́nasya te ráso mádo rā́jann aducchunáḥ | ví vā́ram ávyam arṣati ||
Wahai Raja, rasa dan ekstasi Soma-mu yang memurnikan—yang tidak pernah gagal—mengalir keluar, membelah penapis bulu dan melaluinya dengan luas.
Word by Word
- पवमानस्य
- of the purifying (Soma)Adjective (used substantively)Masculine/Neuter; Genitive singularRole सम्बन्ध (genitival relation)Root पवमान- (√पू ‘पवते’ > पवमान ‘purifying, flowing’)
- ते
- of you / yourPronounGenitive singular (enclitic)Role सम्बन्धRoot युष्मद् (त्वद्)
- रसो
- the sap, juiceNounMasculine; Nominative singularRole कर्तृRoot रस-
- मदो
- the exhilaration, intoxicationNounMasculine; Nominative singularRole कर्तृ (apposition to रसो)Root मद-
- राजन्
- O kingNoun (vocative)Masculine; Vocative singularRole सम्बोधनRoot राजन्-
- अदुच्छुनः
- O un-inauspicious one / O of no ill-sound (auspicious)Adjective (vocative epithet)Masculine; Vocative singularRole सम्बोधनRoot अदुच्छुन- (a- + दुच्छुन- ‘ill-sounding/inauspicious’; Vedic epithet)
- वि
- apart, forth, widelyPreverb/IndeclinableUpasarga (prefix to verb)Root वि
- वारम्
- the cover/obstacle; enclosure (lit. ‘screen’)NounNeuter; Accusative singularRole कर्मRoot वार-
- अव्यम्
- unwoven; not wovenAdjectiveNeuter; Accusative singular (agreeing with वारम्)Role कर्म (qualifier of object)Root अव्य- (from a- + √वे/√वय ‘to weave’; ‘unwoven, not to be woven’)
- अर्षति
- flows, rushesVerbPresent indicative; 3rd person singular; ParasmaipadaRole क्रियाRoot √अर्ष् (अर्षति) ‘to flow, rush’
Sandhi Notes
- External sandhi is minimal
- ‘पवमानस्य ते’ shows simple juxtaposition (genitive + enclitic genitive)
- ‘रसो मदो’ are nominatives in apposition
- ‘वि’ is an upasarga governing the verb ‘अर्षति’
- ‘वारम् अव्यम्’ is accusative object + agreeing adjective
- ‘अदुच्छुनः’ is taken as a vocative epithet (a- + दुच्छुन-), with Vedic accent not affecting segmentation
The meaning
Outer meaning
The taste/juice and ecstasy of your purifying Soma, O King, unfailing, flows out, spreading through/breaking open the woolen filter.
Inner meaning
Soma’s rasa (essential sap) and mada (ecstatic force) are addressed as royal powers ruling the inner kingdom. As Soma purifies, his delight-force becomes unstoppable (aducchunaḥ) and streams through the ‘wool’ strainer (avyam vāram): symbolically, through the subtle discriminating sieve of the mind-vital nature, opening its gates and widening the channels so bliss can pervade the whole being without distortion.
Universal truth
True delight does not remain bottled in the surface nature; when purified, it passes through inner filters, clarifies perception, and widens the channels of life—becoming an unfailing, organizing ecstasy rather than a transient pleasure.
Themes
Soma filtration, Delight (rasa/mada), Breaking coverings
The seer
- Other hymns
- Rig Veda 9.2 (Soma through the woolen strainer imagery), Rig Veda 9.70 (Soma as rasa and mada)
Family tradition
Pavamāna verses often encode experiential yoga of purification using the ritual technology of filtering Soma; the seer is the inner sacrificer observing the ‘rasa’ as it passes the filter.
Significance
Marks a key stage: delight becomes stable and transmissible—able to pass the inner ‘filters’ without loss, indicating maturation of the psychic-vital purification.
The deity
- Devata
- Soma Pavamāna
- Epithets
- Rājan (King), Pavamāna, Aducchuna (unfailing) (epithetic quality)
- Related deities
- Indra (drinker of Soma’s mada), Agni (carrier/transformer of offerings), Maruts (forces that widen channels; thematic)
Cosmic role
Soma is the kingly essence that, once clarified, circulates as the life-sap of the sacrifice and as ecstasy for the gods.
Inner power
Unfailing Ananda that penetrates and widens the mental-vital sieves, turning them into channels of clarity rather than obstruction.
In ritual
Where it is used
Pavamāna filtering (woolen strainer) recitation in Soma-yajña
पव॑मानस्य ते॒ रसो॒ मदो॑ राजन्नदुच्छु॒नः । वि वार॒मव्य॑मर्षति ॥
पव॑मानस्य । ते॒ । रसः॑ । मदः॑ । रा॒ज॒न् । अ॒दु॒च्छु॒नः । वि । वार॑म् । अव्य॑म् । अ॒र्ष॒ति॒ ॥
pavamānasya | te | rasaḥ | madaḥ | rājan | aducchunaḥ | vi | vāram | avyam | arṣati
Likely Triṣṭubh (forceful, declarative cadence; common in Book 9)
44
4 pādas × ~11 syllables (approx.)
Strong forward push with a sense of ‘pressing through’—mirrors the act of filtering.
Encourages a feeling of release and widening; helpful for breaking inner tightness and allowing breath/attention to spread.
- रस (rasa)
- Literal: sap, taste, juice. Symbolic: essential delight-substance; the felt essence of consciousness
- मद (mada)
- Literal: intoxication, exhilaration. Symbolic: ecstatic uplift that empowers and enlarges being
- राजन् (rājan)
- Literal: king. Symbolic: sovereign principle of Ananda governing the inner realm
- अदुच्छुनः (aducchunaḥ)
- Literal: unfailing, not drying up. Symbolic: inexhaustible delight not dependent on outer stimuli
- वार (vāra)
- Literal: covering, enclosure; also strainer/opening. Symbolic: the gate/channel through which consciousness passes and is shaped
- अव्य (avya)
- Literal: woolen. Symbolic: the subtle filtering medium—mind’s textures, samskaric strands—through which experience is refined
- अर्षति (arṣati)
- Literal: flows, streams. Symbolic: continuous movement of purified Ananda through the system
Direct reference to the soma-filter (woolen strainer). Inner sense: Soma’s rasa-mada passes through and opens the mental sheath, releasing wide-flowing delight and clarity.
At the moment of straining/clarifying Soma through sheep’s wool into the collecting vessel.
Chant while Soma passes the strainer; affirming the unfailing flow of rasa and mada.
A mantra for emotional detox and clarity: use when the mind feels ‘clogged’; visualize experiences being filtered into pure essence.
rasa from √ras ‘taste, savor’ → ‘essence’; mada from √mad ‘to rejoice, be intoxicated’ (PIE *med- ‘to be excited/measure’ debated; Indo-Iranian *mad- well attested), here as divine rapture. aducchuna- ‘not drying/not failing’ (a- privative + ducchuna/ucchuna ‘failing/drying’), indicating inexhaustible flow. vāra ‘strainer/covering’ linked to √vṛ ‘cover’; vi vāram suggests ‘opening the covering’. avya ‘woolen’ (from avi ‘sheep’).
ānanda (mada) as sovereign energy, purification as passage through mental coverings, release into wideness (vi)
The ‘right flow’ through the filter is Ṛta as correct passage: essence separated from dross.
Purified rasa becomes truth-felt (satya as direct taste of reality).
Extraction of essence: consciousness refines itself by pressure and filtration into a stable delight-force.
Yoga of transformation: purification of nature so Ananda can govern (rājan) rather than desire/impulse.
Wool filter = subtle mind-vital textures; flow = circulation of purified delight; sap/taste = immediate felt truth of consciousness.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The inexhaustible delight of Soma streaming through the filter: mythically, the divine essence passes through a constraining medium and emerges widened—an image for consciousness breaking its coverings.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- √vṛ ‘cover’ is a widespread IE root (PIE *wer- ‘cover’), and vāra as ‘cover/strainer’ preserves the concrete-to-ritual semantic shift. The pastoral term avya (woolen) reflects an early IE ritual technology of filtration.
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- Addressing Soma as ‘King’ indicates sovereignty accepted by the practitioner; the rishi experiences Soma’s rasa/mada as an unfailing power that actively opens the inner filter (mind) to let the widened flow proceed.
Feel the ‘rasa’ as a subtle sweetness in the chest; let it rise and pass through the ‘filter’ of the throat and mind, widening the inner passageways.
Anahata (rasa sweetness) and Vishuddha (filtering/clarifying expression)
Ujjayi-light (very gentle throat constriction) for 12 breaths to simulate ‘filtering’; then chant once, release into natural breath.
Purified emotional clarity with uplifting ecstasy.
Offer agitation into the inner strainer; allow only the essence to pass. After chanting, speak or write one truthful sentence from the purified state (uktha-seed).
Rigvedic accentuation; emphasize udātta on key power-words (rasaḥ, madaḥ) according to śākhā markings.
Keep ‘rājan’ dignified and steady; let ‘vi vāram’ slightly open in tone to mirror widening.
rasaḥ: final visarga as soft breathy release, madaḥ: clear dental ‘d’; avoid ‘madda’, aducchunaḥ: articulate ‘cch’ gemination; keep vowels short/long as given, vi vāram: distinct ‘v’ not ‘b’; long ‘ā’ in vāram, avyam: ‘vy’ cluster clean; short ‘a’ at start
Full but controlled; a ‘streaming’ continuity without breaks.
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